One of Waitrose’s 44 ‘dual-fuel’ trucks that use a mixture of gas and diesel fuel
Planning permission has been granted to Solihull-based CNG Fuels for what will being billed as the UK’s largest CNG filling station. Located close to junction 28 on the M6 in Lancashire, the station is expected to be open late 2015. The new station will be the first high pressure connected, public-access CNG filling station in the UK, capable of refuelling five hundred plus heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) per day, or as much as 3,500 kg of CNG per hour.
CNG dispensed from local transmission system (LTS) connected stations is the lowest cost fuel available to HGVs, as well as having the lowest Well-To-Wheel emissions of any fossil-based HGV fuel.
The filling station, to become part of the UK’s rapidly growing CNG refuelling infrastructure, can also supply 100% renewable biomethane (Bio-CNG). The station’s first major customer will be Waitrose, part of John Lewis Partnership.
CNG Fuels develops, owns and operates CNG distribution infrastructure including CNG refuelling stations, trailers and vehicles. Philip Fjeld from the company says: “Our customers can save more than 40% of their diesel cost, even after the recent drop in diesel prices, and cut CO2 emissions by more than 20% by using CNG. If fleets choose to fuel their trucks with Bio-CNG, they will be running on 100% renewable gas.”
“Because the new station is directly connected to a high pressure gas pipeline we can “fast-fill” hundreds of HGVs a day. We plan to rollout additional public-access LTS CNG stations in the years ahead, meaning more companies can switch to CNG or Bio-CNG. Companies that choose gas will then be paying a lot less for fuel and also making big greenhouse gas savings.”
Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Partnership, has a regional distribution centre (RDC) less than one mile from Leyland LTS CNG station and will be the anchor customer for the CNG station.
Justin Laney, general manager, Central Transport, John Lewis Partnership says: “We see the use of methane, and in particular biomethane, as the main opportunity to make a step change in the carbon emissions of our heavy truck fleet. We’re currently running 44 ‘dual-fuel’ trucks that use a mixture of gas and diesel fuel, and are also interested in running ‘dedicated’ gas trucks. The Leyland gas filling station is in a good location for us, and importantly gives us the opportunity to purchase gas with ‘Green Gas Certificates’.
National Grid’s network strategy director, David Parkin explained, “National Grid provides a gas network across much of the country … We believe that the use of natural gas from the local transmission network, as a fuel in the transport sector, can play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the future. Whether it’s CNG or Bio-CNG, the benefits for use as a fuel in HGVs are clear; lower emissions, quieter engine noise and favourable fuel prices, compared with traditional liquid fuels.
Philip Fjeld from CNG Fuels continues: “We’re really delighted to have secured John Lewis Partnership as the first major customer for the Leyland LTS CNG station. Being able to offer attractively priced Bio-CNG makes converting to gas a perfect way for companies to drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and improve their bottom line, without compromising operational efficiency. We’re expecting many more of the UK’s big fleets to take the same path.”
CNG Fuels will also be supplying CNG to the HGVs of Brit European at the Leyland LTS CNG station. Brit European won the Motor Transport Award in 2014 for Low Carbon and Efficiency by switching its fleet to biomethane. The company, spun out of CNG Services in 2014, has taken on ownership of the UK’s largest public access CNG filling station in Crewe.
The Leyland filling station is expected to open in the last quarter of 2015.
(Source: CNG Fuels)
